GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: VOL. 3:
FINAL GUARDIANS FILM GOES OUT ON AN EMOTIONALLY SATISFYING NOTE!
By Nico Beland
Movie Review: *** out of 4
MARVEL STUDIOS
Star-Lord, Drax, Rocket Raccoon, Gamora, Groot, Nebula, and Mantis are back in Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3
Everyone’s favorite space misfits are back for one last adventure in Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3, the latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and third and final chapter of the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy. Quick thoughts on the previous films, loved the first film from 2014 and thought it was a very entertaining introduction to one of Marvel’s more obscure teams that’s very different and more self-contained than other MCU films.
The 2017 sequel I originally thought wasn’t quite on par with its predecessor when I reviewed it, but looking back I think the second film is better paced, has a more engaging story with Peter Quill/Star-Lord reuniting with his planet daddy, features the first truly great MCU villain aside from Loki with Kurt Russell’s Ego, and is more character-based than the first film with each Guardian and side character getting their own times to shine…also, the holiday special on Disney+ is enjoyable. Both films do a spectacular job with zany space action and silly humor but aren’t afraid to get emotional from time to time, add in great storylines and memorable characters and you got yourself two of the most fun and unique comic book movies you’ll ever see.
Which brings us to Vol. 3 with writer-director James Gunn (Scooby-Doo 1 and 2, Super, The Suicide Squad) and the original cast returning. This one definitely seemed very different from the other Guardians films in terms of the trailers with a more serious-looking and darker tone than its predecessors but still retained some of the fun of the earlier movies.
Appropriate segway into my thoughts on the actual film because that’s pretty much what I got out of Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3. It’s a darker, more somber installment of the Guardians of the Galaxy storyline that’s heavy on characters and emotion, but it doesn’t skimp out on the laughs and charm the Guardians are known for and for the most part, I think it works.
Set after the events of Avengers: Endgame, Peter Quill/Star-Lord (Chris Pratt-Parks and Recreation, Jurassic World trilogy, The Super Mario Bros. Movie) is still mourning over the loss of his teammate and love interest, Gamora and the Guardians of the Galaxy have established their headquarters on a rebuilt Knowhere. But as they are settling in, Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper-The Hangover trilogy, Silver Linings Playbook, A Star is Born (2018)) is suddenly attacked by a superpowered being known as Adam Warlock (Will Poulter-We’re the Millers, Maze Runner trilogy, Detroit), rendering him unconscious and severely wounded.
This forces Star-Lord, Drax (Dave Bautista-Spectre, Dune: Parts 1 and 2, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery), Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel-The Iron Giant, Fast & Furious franchise, Riddick trilogy), Nebula (Karen Gillan-Doctor Who, Oculus, Jumanji 2 and 3), and Mantis (Pom Klementieff-Oldboy, Ingrid Goes West, Uncut Gems) to embark on another intergalactic adventure to save their friend. Along the way, they encounter a group of Ravagers led by none other than Gamora (Zoe Saldana-Star Trek franchise, Avatar 1 and 2, The Adam Project) who is actually the 2014 Gamora who helped during the fight against Thanos in Avengers: Endgame, and a powerful man in connection with Rocket’s past known as the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji-John Wick: Chapter 2, Rosy, Daniel Isn’t Real).
The film also stars Sean Gunn (Super, The Belko Experiment, The Suicide Squad) reprising his role as Yondu’s former second-in-command Kraglin, Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby (2013), Widows, Tenet) reprising her role from Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 as Ayesha, Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Bodies Bodies Bodies) as the voice of Cosmo, Sylvester Stallone (Rocky franchise, Rambo franchise, The Suicide Squad) reprising his role from Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 as Stakar Ogord, and Linda Cardellini (Scooby-Doo 1 and 2, Gravity Falls, A Simple Favor) who had previously portrayed Laura Barton in the MCU’s Avengers films as the voice of Rocket’s love interest Lylla the Otter.
Overall, Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 may not be the Guardians’ finest adventure and I do have some issues with the pacing, but I still found it to be a very bold and emotionally satisfying note for Marvel’s lovable space family to go out on. This is basically what Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was trying to do by taking these usually comedic characters and putting them in a more intense, somber setting only this movie does it significantly better without losing touch of what made its predecessors enjoyable.
It’s also an MCU film that earns its PG-13 rating and I’m not talking about the franchise’s first F-bomb. This movie gets dark specifically because it dives into Rocket’s backstory through flashbacks and features some of the most gut-wrenching and horrifying scenes in MCU history where Rocket and other animals are being experimented on by the High Evolutionary, I was honestly getting teary-eyed during those moments.
I know I’m not the only person who thinks this and I’m sure everyone who has already seen the movie said the same thing, but Rocket truly is the heart and soul of the film. As previously mentioned, the film explores Rocket’s past and shows him as a baby raccoon with high intelligence and the friendship he had with these three other animals that were experimented on as well as a strong connection with the High Evolutionary and the aftermath of what inevitably happens is genuinely quite heartbreaking.
The film also goes more into Star-Lord’s relationship with his half-sister, Mantis which was revealed in theGuardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special and shows him trying to rekindle the romance he once had with Gamora except with this new variant of her that doesn’t share the same affections as him which honestly is an interesting way to bring the Gamora character back. I even found myself getting wrapped up in this subplot involving Mantis, Drax, and Nebula rescuing a bunch of animal-looking kids from appending doom and Drax rediscovering his softer, fatherly side.
The action is a lot of fun with probably the best sequence being this one continuous shot of the Guardians fighting off a bunch of bad guys and mutated creatures in a room. There’s also this neat sequence of Adam Warlock flying through a planet that resembles Earth as it’s about to blow up that does give off Man of Steel vibes, but in a good way.
With that said, there are some issues I have with the film, while the story itself is great, it feels rather overstuffed in execution and the pacing could have been better. Most notably, Will Poulter’s Adam Warlock who despite giving a solid performance and looks awesome as the character, he’s not really given much to do in the story and the scenes involving him feel like an afterthought.
Despite its flaws, Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 is a good time and a solid way to cap off the Guardians’ legacy. It’s darker in tone, but doesn’t forget to be fun and silly, the characters are as endearing as ever, and the story while messy in some areas is consistently interesting, strap on in and witness the end for yourself.
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